Since Tommy Lloyd was hired at Arizona, his rosters have included at least one player from Lithuania each season. That makes the European country the perfect place for the Wildcats to visit this summer, and play a few games along the way.
The UA has announced its USA College Lithuania Tour, which will take it to the Baltic nation from Aug. 14-23. The trip will include three exhibition games against national teams from Lithuania and Ukraine.
“It is an honor to have the opportunity to bring our program to Lithuania in August,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said in a news release. “Not just because it is a special country with incredible people, but because they have a strong passion for the game of basketball just like Arizona fans. We look forward to immersing ourselves in the Lithuanian culture, with the added bonus of being able to play a couple exhibition games against some great competition.”
Arizona’s roster for the 2026-27 season includes three Lithuanian-born players in Motiejus Krivas as well as transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius. The Wildcats have previously had Azuolas and Tautvilas Tubelis and Paulius Murauskas come from Lithuania.
College Sports Management, the same outfit that helped organize Arizona’a trip to Israel and Abu Dhabi, put this event together. It was made possible by a recent NCAA rule change that allows all college sports teams to take annual overseas trips in the offseason, rather than just once every four years.
The UA will play the Lithuania B Team on Aug. 19 in Jonava, then the following day face the Ukraine Senior National Team in Kedaninai. On Aug. 22 the Wildcats take on the Lithuania Senior National Team in Alytus, marking the first time the Lithuania senior squad has faced a college team.
The trip will also feature plenty of sightseeing, including in and around Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania and where Krivas played for the club team Zalgiris Kaunas prior to coming to the the UA.
Arizona won’t be the only college team visiting Lithuania this summer. National champion Michigan, which beat the Wildcats in the Final Four, is playing games there and in Croatia from Aug. 21-29.